Effects of dietary energy level on the transcription of the H-FABP gene in different tissues of sheep

A total of 36 four-month-old crossbred lambs (Dorset × Thin-tailed Han sheep) with similar BW were randomly allocated to three dietary treatments with different energy (7.21, 10.33 and 13.49 MJ d−1 ME). Longissimus dorsi, femoral biceps and cardiac muscle tissue were sampled and total RNA was extracted to determine relative transcript levels of the Heart-type fatty acid-binding proteins (H-FABP) gene by real-time PCR. The results showed that the abundance of H-FABP mRNA in different tissues of sheep increased with the elevation of dietary energy. In the longissimus dorsi and femoral biceps muscles, the H-FABP mRNA levels showed significant differences among the three groups (P < 0.01); in the cardiac muscle, the H-FABP mRNA level in the high energy group was significantly higher than that in the moderate and low energy groups (P < 0.01), and the H-FABP mRNA level in the moderate energy group was significantly different from the low energy groups (P < 0.05). The number of H-FABP copies (Qty) in different tissues of sheep was different, it was greater in the cardiac muscle tissue than in longissimus dorsi muscle and femoral biceps muscle.